Davis-less Dynamo accustomed to adversity

TEAM EFFORT: Jermaine Taylor, right, came on Sunday when Brad Davis was injured against Sporting Kansas City, and the Dynamo didn't skip a beat.

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MLS CUP

Who: Dynamo vs. L.A. Galaxy.

When/where: 8 p.m. Nov. 20; Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif.

TV/radio: ESPN, Galavision, TSN2; 790 AM and 850 AM (Spanish).

From opening day in April until the Dynamo began the best run in MLS heading into the playoffs, coach Dominic Kinnear was forced to alter his lineup often because of injuries to key players.

Out of habit, Kinnear doesn't tinker with his lineup while the team is winning, so there wasn't much change as the Dynamo marched to their Eastern Conference final victory over Sporting Kansas City on Sunday at Livestrong Sporting Park.

Barring an unlikely recovery by All-Star midfielder Brad Davis, the Dynamo begin preparations for the MLS Cup against the Los Angeles Galaxy knowing they will be without the league leader in assists Nov. 20 at Home Depot Center.

But if the Dynamo proved one thing this year and again Sunday after Davis tore his right quadriceps in the first half, it's that they're resilient.

They began the season with all-time leading scorer Brian Ching out with an injury. Then with Ching barely contributing because of multiple injuries, the Dynamo merely responded with a five-game unbeaten streak from late March through April as rookie forward Will Bruin was forced into the lineup.

The show must go on

On Sunday, they didn't feel sorry for themselves after losing Davis, one of three finalists for the league's MVP award.

"At first I had pity for (Davis)," Adam Moffat said. "I felt so sad with how well he's been playing and the big part of the team that he is. I knew it was a bad injury with the way he went down. He's a tough guy.

"I just felt so sorry for him. But also, we had a game to go. It was 0-0. Physically, we had to plug in. We had created some chances before that, and Brad had helped create those.

"We were thinking we needed to keep it going and get opportunities from other places. Guys stepped up big-time with just a fantastic attitude by everybody. It was very exciting."

The Dynamo thrived after All-Star left back Corey Ashe was pushed to Davis' spot on the left side of the midfield while Jamaican defender Jermaine Taylor subbed for Davis and took over for Ashe at left back.

Winners of five in a row and unbeaten in their past nine games, the Dynamo can also draw from their previous MLS Cups for inspiration.

The two-time MLS Cup champions won titles in 2006 and 2007 while missing an important starter in each of those finals. In 2006, U.S. national team midfielder Ricardo Clark missed the playoffs while serving a suspension for pummeling FC Dallas' Carlos Ruiz.

A year later, Ching missed the final with an injury.

Digging deep

In their third MLS Cup in six years, the Dynamo must find a way to win without a man who led the league with a career-high 16 assists in the regular season and had two in the Eastern Conference semifinals against Philadelphia.

"It hurts losing (Davis)," goalkeeper Tally Hall said. "But at the same time, I feel like we have a deep team. We have a team of dangerous players, and I think we've proven that even without Brad."